Iron's Blade
by Kathryn Euler
Summary: Cain is half demon, half fey. All his history is in Nevernever, however he has never been there before. What happens when the Forgotten Fey make their appearances? What does the Winter Princess Diana have in connection? Written with Lapis Moon. This story is in relation to "Winter's Tale" byt Lapis Moon.
1. Death shouldn't be the Beginning

**Hi. I'm killing all my old fanfics and starting this one. It is being written with Lapis Moon, a lot of you may be familiar with her character, Diana. This fic with feature meh character, Cain. Half demon and half fey. We are writing together. So again, I have no idea where this could go. **

**Enjoy!**

Cain didn't make a funeral. His mother's death was arupt. But she was fey, there was simply no way she could have survived the conditions of the Mortal Realm. It was expected, but at the same time, arupt.

It wasn't an attack or anything. His mother Electra simply stopped being able to stand the iron, and faded away. Cain watched it happen numbly through his silvery sharp hair. This was sillly. What was he supposed to do now? People always said there was a meaning to life. Not his. _If I had a life_. He thought.

He was sitting by the fountain in the Central Park of New York City. He was confused. What would he do? Find his father? His father simply left him when he was 13. For no reason. Besides, Leviathan was his demon parent. What would he do to help his son? Would he do anything at all? Generally, Leviathan kept tabs on him by snail mail, email, phone, text, ect. But he hadn't gotten anything lately.

Cain realized he should feel sad. He often found he was unable to feel things like guilt, sadness, regret and worry. It was something that sometimes annoyed him, though he knew there was nothing he could do about it. It was just him...

But that's around when he decided to venture into Nevernever, a place he had heard so much about, and knew so much about about. However he had never set a foot into the lands. Of course, a parents death wasn't the best time, but still, he couldn't sit around and mope.

Getting into the Wyldwoods was easy. There was a nightclub nearby, which was rumoured to have a trod. Turned out the rumours were true. He found himself in Nevernever in no time. He looked around, and saw nothing special. But soon found himself nervous, as his hand had drawn out his sword, that was charged with demon glamour. He didn't even realize it happened. It just did.

He wondered if Lord Oberon would accept an exile's son into his court. Either way, he would try, and head off into a random direction. He caught sight of a faerie knight, dressed reagally as a Summer knight. It completely put his mundane fashion to shame. But the knight was immediately considered a threat, and Cain had readied himself in less than a second.

The knight laughed, and stepped forward, revealing red hair and bright green eyes. Looking like any typical Summer fey.

"I'm only looking for the half demon fey. By orders of Lord Oberon. He has been sighted using a trod into Nevernever, and is being invited as a ally into the Summer Court. So please, just leave, whatever you are. "

Cain twitched, unaware that all of Nevernever now knew of his presence. It annoyed him. He stepped aside wordlessly to let the faerie pass. He didn't even turn around. When he was a distance away, he called back,

"Searching for Cain is now a lost cause for you. You literally just walked pass him."

He spun around slowly, eyes narrowing. "_You _are Cain?"

Cain smiled emotionlessly, everything just happened without him thinking. "Yes," he said simply. And I _just_ happened to be looking to get into the Summer Court. Your offering?"

That's when the knight noticed that it must have been him. As Cain lifted his head up, the faerie knight was able to see large black eyes, looking as if they had no iris. They had a hypnotic glare to them, as if you can fall right into them. His eyes were normally all black, without any whites. But minor practices of glamour dealt with that. His hair was silvery, sharp, and seemed to fall everywhere. It was slightly damp at the moment from rain and hung near his shoulders.

The faerie knight recovered from the shock. And got all polite and straight forward.

"Please, Cain. You are welcome to enter Arcadia as you please. Consider it your home." he looked amused with himself, "Please, follow me. We actually aren't all that far away. Oberon would be _very_ pleased to hear you've made it."

The walk was uneventful. Either of then refused to talk, and they wordlessly helped each other with stray branches every few minutes or so. Practically without realizing, Cain found himself out of the Wyldwoods and standing in the vast lands of Arcadia. Apparently being 'close' meant a day and a half of walking, and occasional jogging. He was expecting a short walk, like 15 minutes or so.

The faerie knight led him into a large castle, home to the Seelie Court. He followed numbly, and they stopped at a door.

"That's where Lord Oberon will be looking to see you."

He pushed the doors open, and simply disapeared in a burst of black raven feathers. Cain frowned, not happy with current results. He saw a noble looking faerie, with long silver hair sitting on a throne. He was guestering, as if expecting Cain to step into the room, which seemed remotely emtpy. He strode in with unearthly grace. He bowed, "Lord Oberon..."

The faerie king seemed impatient.

"Stand."

Cain rose swiftly, and with significant speed. It looked as it that movement contained only two part, kneeling and standing. No inbetween.

"Might I asked why is it that you call me here today, Your Majesty?"

He was able to easily use the right amount of politeness, and not over do it. That way it wouldn't seem as if he were afraid. Oberon stood up and strolled up right in front of him.

"I know more about you than you know about yourself. The deal I'm offering you is all that information in return for you staying here as a permanent resident, and a Seelie Fey. Once again, I assure you that you would really like this information. "

Cain shrugged. It didn't sound bad at all. Besides, he was interested in seeing what Oberon had to share. He planned to stay in Arcadia anyways, so it wasn't a problem. He bowed slightly in thanks once more.

"I agree to those terms."

Oberon looked pleased, however he didn't smile.

"Very well then, everything you need to know will be revealed to you in three nights, on the day of Elysium. Out of this room, my Jester, Robin Goodfellow will lead you to your _permanent_ room."

I bowed again before turning around to leave. I did find the fey from before, and followed him into a room, again without a word. The room however, was nice enough. he sat on the bed and patted it. Then he realized that Robin was still standing in the doorway. he stood up, strolled over and smiled.

"Hello Robin Goodfellow. It was a pleasure almost meeting you today. I'd simply_ love _to chat more, so feel free to come up and give a knock, OK?"

He slammed the door shut before he got any response. His glamour swirled around him as he locked the door. He didn't sleep. He couldn't. He found himself lying on the bed for hours thinking. How had that gone so smoothly? Why didn't Oberon ask any questions? Did he really know him so well? What was this secret being kept?

**And that's it. Sorry guys. I suck at writing first chapters. But please R&R! Next chapter will be from Lapis Moon, but still on my account.**


	2. Bursts in Summer

**This chapter is written in Diana's POV, by Lapis Moon.**  
**I suggest you all read her story: Winter's Tale.**  
**-Kathryn**

"I'm leaving," I muttered under my breath, causing my brother to look up from the book he had been reading. Sage's emotionless green gaze flickered to me, and though he said nothing, I could tell that he was surprised by my sudden outburst. "Temporarily. I can't stand court for over an hour. Or Rowan, for that matter."

"Elysium is coming," he reminded me, already in the process of resuming his reading. With a single graceful motion, he pushed the page back absently, and from the faraway look in his eyes, I knew that he wasn't actually studying the book.

"I'll make sure to come back at the last possible minute, then," I commented with a wry smile, and he didn't respond for a long minute, his concentration elsewhere. Elysium. The word filled my mind with long experienced annoyance and irritation from my childhood, though this time, there was a conceivable difference to my attitude. Perhaps my brother, who Mab deemed a traitor, would be there with his new court. The thought made a true smile curl my lips, and I hurriedly turned away before Sage could see it. "I'll be in the Wyldwood."

The mist crept like a heavy blanket over the forest floor, covering the paths and shielding the twisted roots from view, completely disabling both my sense of direction, and my ability to not trip every other second. Eyes adjusted to the fog peeked out from every direction, and eerie voices sang warnings to the wind, echoing through the forest with careful precision.

I had been here many times, though a few decades ago, the very land wasn't so guarded, still recovering from the poison of the iron realm. Noticeably, the grasses didn't stand nearly as tall as before, the emerald green faded from their blades, though slowly healing bit by bit. Meghan was the Iron Queen now, the one who held back enough deadly power to wage war and probably do astonishing amounts of damage, and who possessed the same political position as Mother. She had married my older brother, Ash, and Mab hated her even more ever since for stealing away who most people deemed as her favorite son.

The air became tangibly warmer, and though I had just began walking in a random direction, not at all minding my surroundings, I realized that I was approaching the borders of Arcadia, what I was beginning to deem as the realm of fey that will try to kill me for even accidently stumbling upon their kingdom. Automatically, I should have turned away, though I inched closer, feeling dangerously reckless with implausible amounts of boredom clouding my actions and mind.

With the thought of 'What's the worst that could happen?' echoing through my head, I figured the answer was that I could get killed, but then it didn't seem so bad when I knew that Mab would probably get revenge somehow. Besides, to be technical, I was still a few steps behind the border, and if anyone asked my reasons, I could truthfully say that I really didn't intend to come to Arcadia.

"What is a Winter doing so close to the Seelie border?" A voice questioned, and I drew a sharp breath of alarm, my gaze meeting with a dryad's, hair flowing in leafy patterns of emerald green.

"I just ended up here as I walked," I replied, actually attempting to convince myself more than I was trying to convince her. She blinked once, her brown eyes flickering with confusion, as if my answer had been unexpected. Naturally, that drew my interest, and I automatically wondered if there would be another reason to come here.

"Is that so? You haven't come to find the identity of the silver-haired boy, then?"

"No. I came to sate my boredom, though if you tell what you know on the topic, I might just venture further," I pressed, implications of a faery contract beginning to hang heavily in the air.

"I am not one for contracts, Winter girl. What you wish to know, I will tell you, though it is not much." She replied, and I suddenly remembered that dryads disliked that particular trait of sidhe. "A Summer knight under the commands of Oberon traveled through the Wyldwood, and returned with a silver-haired boy."

"Why does this interest everyone so much?" I asked, idly retying my ponytail and raising an eyebrow in puzzled curiosity. "He could've been human."

"His ears were pointed, Unseelie, and he was certainly not human," she answered warily, eyes darkening with her thoughts. "Last Oberon sent his men to personally retrieve someone, it had been Meghan Chase, child of the Erlking himself. Can you not draw the connection?"

"I'd rather not," I replied, unhesitant, my hand reaching to pull up the hood of my cloak. "I still do not understand why you would tell me this without a contract of sorts. Most are eager to use my connection to the Winter Queen."

"I want no connection to your mother."

"Many don't." I replied ironically, letting my hand rest on the hilt of my sword, the shadows of the cloak hiding my face. Then, though I knew I would regret it later, I continued forward, straight into the realm of the fey that hated my existence.

*** Drumroll ***  
**For those who have already read Winter's Tale, did you notice the mentioning of Rowan?**  
**It's Kathyrn talking right now, and uhh. . . I actually have no idea how that works either.**  
**Prepare for the next chapter!**


	3. Swords, Roses and Changes

**Hi there! I know I'm updating fast...but oh well.**

**Anyways, I thought you guys needed to hear from Lapis Moon...so here's a short comment:**

**"Your author's note made me laugh."**

**Yeah...uhh...nothing else. Except Kathryn has returned for her chapter.**

Cain sat around lazily, far away from the place he was supposed to, but hadn't slept in. Robin Goodfellow was there with him because 'it was his job'. He was giving out lectures on how to act properly in Elysium.

"...so after Oberon reveals whatever it is, that's pretty much when Elysium starts. Don't panic with whatever you hear, whether it was that Oberon stole your toy car when you were six or if your diagnosed with a terrible diesease. After that you will be expected to dance with royalty from another court. That's just because your an important and powerful ally to the Summer Court. Now, there aren't many females of high positioning in the Iron Court. Which I realized you haven't heard about, but is ruled by Queen Meghan Chase. She _was_ the Summer Princess...but then, well moved on. It's a long story."

Cain nodded, he was truly listening, picking out every word.

"Either way, her husband is Prince Ash...he used to be the Winter Prince. So in other words the Iron Realm is made out of rolyalty from other courts. There's also Prince Kierran, Meghan and Ash's son. The other person of high positioning is Glitch, the Iron Queen's first in command. But...in the Winter Court, there's Princess Diana. She isn't hard to find really."

Cain didn't like the way it was going.

"Are you seriously suggesting that I dance with this girl I completely haven't met before? And uhh...stupid question. How old is she? I ask that your at least _try or pretend _that you remember that I'm 20?"

Robin snorted, "It'll be fine. Just deal with it."

Cain started feeling edgy, he didn't like being pushed around.

"Hey," he said reasonably, "I don't think any of this was in the contract I made with Oberon..."

Robin smiled playfully, "No, that the one you were referring to at least. It's just a part of the contract of life. You do this or die."

Cain jerked up, he was starting to get annoyed with the Jester. If this continued for any longer, he would probably loose it.

"I know I should have told you this earlier, Robin Goodfellow, but there's been this girl watching us the whole time."

It was true. Cain had sighted a fey girl, with black hair. However, in the midst of trees, that was all he was able to get.

"I think she's Unseelie too ..."  
Robin frowned, stood up and beckoned, which resulted in Cain jumping to the side and going from the other side. Robin called over, "Cain! Meet Princess Diana of the Winter Court!"  
Cain dropped his head and sprinted over. Robin was now leaning lazily against a tree, while Diana seemed upset, maybe for being caught. Cain fell into a light bow, and because he didn't think Diana was involved with that particular 'life contract', stood up and said,  
"Princess Diana, what is it that has brought you into that enemy territories?"

"Bordem, perhaps," answered Diana, "And curiousity"  
Diana remained emotionless, Cain found that there was nothing to read off of one her face. It annoyed him a bit. He turned to Robin, "breifly, he seemed a bit surprised with Diana's arrival. Cain made the slightest motion of sticking his tongue out at him.  
He turned back to Diana, ow smiling.  
"And may I ask what your curious about?"

Diana answered, getting slightly serious, "Rumors tell of a silver-haired boy entering Oberon's realm with a Summer knight." Cain stared at the Unseelie fey.

"I hope you realize that I am that silver haired boy? It's an odd way to be described, you know."

Cain pivoted forwards, leaning slightly,  
"You know, I hate to tell you this, but I'd love to hear some opinion on a half demon half fey boy. I've only gotten comments from my father, who says I put demon kind to shame. Lord Oberon says I'd be a powerful ally. What might you have to say? "

"I have no reason to," Diana answered flatly.  
Cain laughed this time, not at Diana, but at Robin. Cain nudged the other Seelie Fey, "Go on, tell her it's a part of her life contract." When Robin remained speechless, and surprisingly, have no snarky comment, Cain spoke again.  
"Then might you have a reason to stay? Has this not been enough for your curiousity?"

Diana shot back her answer immediately. Which caused Robin to disapear."Which is not yet satisfied. Who are you?" Cain dipped his head politely, "My name is Cain, I am the silver haired boy. I must say I am enjoying this...conversation," Cain looked up, still smiling, "Are you?"

"To an extent." Diana answered, now feeling a bit more freestyle. Cain decided Diana was nice enough. "Well, it was nice meeting you Princess Diana. I'd like to call you a friend from now on. I don't think your all that safe here. So you are expected to leave, thank you."  
Diana dipped her head, then turned around back into the wyldwoods before another Seelie Fey might have seen her. Cain worried her a bit, the way he talked always seemed to be changing, she felt like she had just spoken to three different people. She also thought that Cain acted more like a Unseelie fey, slightly tainted by a type of rare fey. Called Robin Goodfellow.

Cain watched her diapear, he truly like her. Even though she had hidden most of her emotion, he was able to learn something, which was an emotional fear of...emotion. It really just reminded him of himself, when he was around 13, he had dated a young girl named Jessica. It was a hard decision, as friendship and love were things his father had told him to avoid. The results of messy, and since then, he had never trusted emotions. But now was a good time to try everything new.

**That chapter was...ok.**

**It was mainly for Diana to meet Cain...**

**I had a lot of help from Lapis Moon, because I was unsure how to write for Diana. Again, I'm keeping Cain's secrets away from you guys...**


	4. Unknown, unexisting, and untold Love

**I have just confused myself, I almost started giving you an extreme spoiler, because I had told Lapis Moon, and I forgot you guys weren't supposed to know. Oops. Luckily I noticed in time, or...well yeah. Lapis wrote this one, and I think that Sage was being awesome here. Like, really awesome. **

Can you not draw the connection? The dryad's voice echoed briefly through my mind, question calm and inquiring, and even now, I dreaded to answer it. Cain had been favored by Oberon for some reason, and that was why the Erlking saw fit to personally seek him. To be perfectly honest, I didn't at all hate him, even if his attitude toward me did seem confusing somewhat. Most Seelie had varied reactions to a Winter Princess, expanding from the simple try to pretend I don't exist, to the more violent insults and sword using. He did neither, and was friendly even.

The Winter castle, heart of Tir Na Nog, appeared in my line of sight, and I gave a tiny roll of my eyes, annoyed that Elysium was so near. Come to think of it, wouldn't I have to dance with someone of high rank from another court? Usually, I could have pushed that particular duty to Rowan somehow, considering he was generally more than eager to accomplish it, but there weren't any other princesses, and that made me wonder who exactly would fulfill that particular tradition.

As I was musing this silently to myself, I didn't notice that I had walked through the door, until Sage gave me a nod of acknowledgement. "You are back," he said, gazing absently at the window, and I paused in my walk, wondering whether or not he needed to know about Cain. Deciding that the silence was pointless, I gave a small shrug, once more wondering 'what's the worst that could happen?'. He wasn't as manipulative as Rowan, and I didn't see how the information could be used against me even if he was.

"I met a silver-haired boy in the Wyldwood," I commented emotionlessly, faking disinterest even though the topic really was something to be enthusiastic about. Almost automatically, I looked away in casual nonchalance, an instinctive reaction when speaking. Sage didn't interrupt, and I took that as a sign to continue. "He was a Seelie," I added as an afterthought.

Almost unnoticeably, his eyes narrowed slightly as my words occurred to him, and his gaze flickered to mine, his tone serious. "Diana, do not fall in love." To be frank, I hadn't said anything about love, but the topic was probably sensitive to him, considering it stole away Ash's loyalty from his family and court. There was a tense silence, and I was at a loss for how to reply. He confused me, yes, but I myself did not believe it was love, and so if I admitted it, it wouldn't be a lie.

"I'm not in love with Cain," I muttered quietly, and Sage's eyes softened just a bit. "Mab is the only one I will ever serve."  
"Ash has sworn his unwavering loyalty many a time, and yet, it was not a difficult task for him to leave," he replied, the implication clear. For a moment, I was afraid he didn't trust me, and was just about to launch into a speech on how I did not love the Seelie named Cain, until he continued, turning away. "But he never once swore that he had no love for the Summer Princess."

"Ash has loved one before her," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I have never once known true love." It was absolute, undeniable truth, and Sage probably knew the honesty in my words.

"It is only weakness in the eyes of the Winter court," he finally said, continuing his walk down the hallway. "Elysium nears, Diana. You would best prepare." His footsteps were slow and thoughtful, even as they gradually faded from my ears, and I shut my eyes tightly, stress and confusion spinning my mind in endless circles.

I must have believed without a single doubt in my mind that I felt no love for him then, or else I wouldn't have been able to say it. Love, to me, was an empty word only able to be defined by even emptier words, something that would never seem more real to me than a bunch of scrambled letters laying in an open dictionary. He was different than the other Seelie, for I usually disliked them right away, but I felt not even the slightest bit of hatred towards Cain.

Perhaps it was that he had been polite. Few bothered to show civility towards me, and maybe it was just surprised respect that was making me so confused. I decided it must be that, not wishing to waste any more of my precious time before Elysium dwelling on such a topic. Quickly, I purposely shook my head, clearing my thoughts of all doubt. I was in the Winter castle, home of Mab and right in the center of the Winter court. There was no weakness permitted here; no amount of hesitation or confusion would aid my survival.

Even if I knew this well, I couldn't help but silently wonder. If Mab ordered me to kill Cain by my own hands, could I do it? It had been just an idle thought, and I knew I was capable of the action, but no amount of empty, meaningless words could describe the sudden ache in my heart as I even considered the scene.

**Horray for awesomeness.**

**I just realized that I, Kathryn will have to be left with the chapter of Elysium. That would be difficult, but interesting to write. Next chapter in the next week!**


	5. Elysium

**This is going to be a very creative chapter for Elysium...I dunno, maybe I'll make it two chapters. **

Cain shook his head sadly at his outfit. "Green isn't my colour," he said out loud. Puck who was standing beside him glared,"You remember everything I taught you?" Cain shrugged still focused on the piece of clothing, "Yeah, sure." Puck stalked away, footsteps disappearing quickly. Cain found it odd, how he was supposed to be a jester. He had been fun, and funny at first, but eventually he seemed to develop hatred for him. Cain changed quickly, and slightly regretted insulting the clothing, as it was very glamorous. Possibly literally. The colours were a mixture of green and black, green was probably for being Summer Fey, and no doubt the black was for being part demon. He was also very happy that it seemed to support swords and various other weapons.

He looked around and carefully armed himself. _Carefully,_ he thought. Why carefully? What was it that could possibly make him nervous? It wasn't Diana was it? He shook his head silently and walked out, heading towards the throne room, where Elysium would be held.

Puck strolled down many corridors that he knew so well. He was very much pissed off with this Seelie Prince. Why did Oberon even think about him? Cain was annoying, careless, and selfish, and he deserved no title to Seelie Prince. Puck jerked to a stop when he realized why he was thinking like this, he was comparing him to _Meghan._ Meghan wasn't a jerk like Cain was, but could be annoying in her own ways. He remembered her face when she first walked into Nevernever, and started to move again. He was stopped by Oberon, "Goodfellow," the Erlking said, "I have found myself wondering, if I should give my son some notice before the rest of Nevernever knows he is Prince." Puck smirked, Lord Oberon always showed so much care for his children, as much as he tried to hide it. "Hmm, I think you should, I mean, you told Meghan and all. You should probably do that again." Puck let himself disappear, deciding not to show up for Elysium at all, but possibly shoot a visit to the Winter or Iron court later on.

Cain got lost a few times, but eventually managed to find his way around. The room was large, as expected, but didn't feel particularly spacey. He noticed Queen Tatiana at the back, and moved forward, and swept into a gallant bow. "Well, Cain," she said with an unnaturally kind voice, "I deliver you a message from Oberon. About you. You see," she started leaning forward, "You are Prince Cain, grandson of Lord Oberon yourself." she smiled directly at him, sending a few chills down his back, "Oh, no need to start asking questions my child. That will simply make you appear foolish. I'll answer them myself. Your mother made a self imposed exile, to escape from Nevernever. She didn't like the, ahh, 'cruel ways of faerie kind'. So she left and hid." Cain dipped his head lightly, but his brain had pretty much shut down, and he wasn't thinking, "Tha-Well spoken Queen Tatiana" She regarded him carefully and disappeared, but soon, the room started to fill itself for Elyisum.

Diana shuffled around in her dress as she looked around for Sage, she wanted to talk to him, to make sure that he didn't misunderstood how she felt about Cain. "Hey little sister." said a taunting voice, it was Rowan. Diana flinched, "Hello Rowan," she said flatly. "We're going now, you better hurry, don't want to miss your date with the devil." he said, practically laughing. _Wow, _she thought, _That was either a very good and misguided guess, or he's been eavesdropping._ Diana smiled sweetly, "Whatever you say,"_  
_

She twirled herself towards the flying carriage, resisting the urge to look behind her. She was able to stop thinking about Cain and Rowan for the whole time, instead, she occupied herself by observing everything below her, and gazing off into the lands of Nevernever.

Cain stood on the left side of where Oberon sat, looking like a statue. His mind raced, partly on Elysium, partly on being a Seelie Prince. He cocked his head as he felt the room grow cooler at the entrance of the Winter Court. The woman who he thought to be Queen Mab entered first, who was followed by her sons, Sage and Rowan. Cain desperately tried to decide which was which, they looked similar, and he had forgotten the detailed description of everyone in Nevernever. He cocked her head and let himself gaze off at Diana, who like all the other Winter Fey looked emotionless and cold. The Iron Court's entrance was a big show, Oberon even bothered standing up when Queen Meghan entered. She had come in side by side with another fey, presumably Ash. Oberon remained standing, and gave out a single sentence, "I present to you, Prince Cain of the Seelie Court, son of my daughter, Electra and the demon Leviathan." Cain stood there, slightly confused as to what was expected of him. Oh, yes, he could always show off with some demon glamour. He felt the light around him dim slightly, and he was sure that others realized it.

Elysium was a big mess. Cain tried to move through the crowd, and avoided responding to the glared he was getting from other people. He looked at some Iron fey with spiky, and electrified hair watched him, and then turned away to talk to his Queen. Cain refused to look up, and went on his search for Diana, and found her without much problem. Diana already seemed well prepared for whatever he was going to do. Cain thought that he was being to predictable. He smiled and tried to keep everything cool as he offered her his hand.


End file.
